Departure of Vasco da Gama

Date: August 29, 1498 • Location: Beypore, India

Vasco da Gama decides to depart Calicut and return to the Kingdom of Portugal.

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman. His discovery of the first maritime route between Europe and India—around the Cape of Good Hope, then across the Indian Ocean from Malindi in Kenya to Kozhikode—opened up European exploration of, and commerce with, India, and is considered a landmark event in world history.